Are you doing anything besides counting calories?

Options
2

Replies

  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,958 Member
    Options
    I count calories, but I'm also doing the low-carb/high-fat thing. I count carbs, keep them between 20 and 30g daily, eat moderate protein, and high fat. It kills cravings (I'm a MAJOR carb addict) and helped me re-train myself in keeping my portions the right size.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Options
    Do you guys use IIFYM to calculate your macros?

    If you use IIFYM calculator, then estimate your caloric needs from a separate site like exrx.net or health-calc.com (subtract 20% from it) first. Use that as your custom calorie intake. IIFYM calculator is off for many people.

    But macros are subjective. I find that I do better (at least while losing weight) eating my lean body mass weight (~125-130) weight multiplied by 1.2 for protein. So 125 x 1.2 = 150. I was doing 130g but it just wasn't working for me. Yet I really don't think I need 170g of protein. For fats, I find that I need to eat at least 35% of my weigh for fat intake, although I often eat more. I'll go higher on carbs on workout days sometimes because I have more cals to eat (I do net method now), but sometimes I wind up eating more fat instead and my carbs don't go up that much.
  • mizztanjo
    mizztanjo Posts: 153 Member
    Options
    I follow the 21 Day Fix meal plan with the 1,200-1,499 calories per day plan. I don't eat grains, I cut out processed sugar %90 as well as dairy (I still eat cottage cheese and a few other dairy products), I only drink water & herbal/green tea, and I am vegetarian (altho I still eat seafood). Some may say it sounds hard and complicated but it really isn't! I eat a lot of eggs, eat fish, veggies, a bit of fruit, bit if cheese, nuts and seeds, salads....and on weekends I enjoy some wine and snack on things like snapea crisps or Beanito's & salsa.
    My weight maintains itself between 115-120, depending on the day/week. I feel very healthy & energetic, and have no more stomach issues like in the past.
    Hope that helps a bit :)
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,958 Member
    Options


    Any type of restriction/elimination diet should only be done for health purposes, not for weight loss purposes.

    Whatever. I have no health problems other than being overweight. Which some might argue IS a health problem. Works perfectly for me. I eat no gluten or sugar by default since my carb count is low, but those foods are triggers for binging for me anyway. I also don't have problems keeping my hands off trigger foods either eating this way.

    People need to do what works for them. Period. :smile:
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
    Options
    I count my calories and try to keep my macros in check, but I pay close attention to my fiber as I have GI issues and my doctor has encouraged me to eat a higher fiber diet to keep me from relapsing. I should also technically keep my fat lower since I lack a gallbladder.
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    Options
    With the new paleo or sugar free or gluten free or both, etc., I am wondering if everyone here ( or anyone here) is doing both? Or are we just counting calories and eating what we want?

    Curious to see everyone's responses.

    I counted calories for years with great success before going gluten and dairy free at the advice of a doctor. The reduction in headaches and hormonal swings is great since going gluten and dairy free but IN NO WAY is my diet more nutrient dense/more appropriate/more weight loss friendly by eliminating those things. I still look at the calories and make my decisions based on what my needs are with whatever I am training for at the time. I did not eat meat for over 10 years before starting to count calories so while that is a part of my life, no meat also had nothing to do with my size or weight.
  • jke78
    jke78 Posts: 59 Member
    Options
    I don't eat out at all, I try not to buy things that will tempt me, I cut out all the sodas, I use stevia when possible(and less sugar in the things I don't put stevia in), I have scheduled times to eat meals and snacks, and I am trying to eat things that have minimal processing(which is hard to do in redneck country).
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Options
    I try to build a diet around whole nutritious foods. Lots of vegetables, meats, dairy, seeds and nuts, legumes, some fruit, and some whole grains.

    Focusing on eating whole nutritious foods has been my goal for a very long time. Sure I still eat crap. It's just not the basis of my diet any more.

    ^^ This is basically what I do, though with more whole grains. I've been cooking my meals from scratch most of the time since the early 1990s, though of course from time to time I'll pop a frozen pizza in the oven, or get take-out. And sometimes, "cooking" from scratch means opening the bag of pre-washed lettuce, grating some cheese and carrot onto it, cutting up a pepper, and tossing with a commercial salad dressing, with bread and butter on the side. Usually, though, it's a little more elaborate.
    Sounds great. And yes, I ate quite a few more grains when I was younger... I'm finding it harder to maintain my weight now, with menopause, and for me, eating a lot of grains leaves me feeling bloated and hungry. So while I do eat some, it's not with every meal these days. But I maintained for the first 10 years by eating them several times a day. Whole grains.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    Options
    Usually I just eat healthily and aim for high protein, but at the moment I'm doing carb cycling. I do 5 days low carb and 2 days high carb a week. I'm only doing it for a few weeks just to kick start my post partum weight loss. It's not a massive change from my usual eating, but just no slice of toast with my eggs and no fruit on low carb days.

    I also do loads of exercise.
  • ravenmiss
    ravenmiss Posts: 384 Member
    Options
    I try to hit my macros, especially protein and I exercise.
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Options
    I am counting calories (I have a range I am shooting for) and watching protein and fiber. I don't have any food restrictions, but I try to meet those goals. And I am starting to exercise.
  • wonderfullymadebyhim
    wonderfullymadebyhim Posts: 170 Member
    Options
    I started off just counting calories (1200 or so) and weight was not coming barely at all, even in the first 2 weeks. So I changed based on some research I was doing.

    So now I do count calories (1600) but have specific macros I'm trying to hit doing a ketogenic diet. 20 gm carb, 80 gm protein, 116g fat. (specific to my body composition/activity level) Sounds weird but it is very intentional so my body becomes more efficient burning fat plus I'm not hungry! Fat and protein provide excellent satiety and that's important for a hungry girl like me who never really has a shut off mechanism for eating otherwise.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Options
    In addition to counting calories, I generally eat in a way that I believe is healthy and that makes me feel good and meets my goals (to be energetic, make progress with my fitness efforts, so on).

    This does not involve following any named diets or eliminating any foods other than because (a) I don't care for them, or (b) on any particular day they don't fit in my nutrition plan/calories for the day and aren't worth sacrificing anything else I wish to eat. The result of (b) is that there are various foods I rarely eat even though I like them, but I have not eliminated them. In some cases I just save them for a special occasion. (I plan to make and eat pie on Thanksgiving, for example.)
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    Options
    Counting calories and watching protein casually. As in, oh no! I just ended a day at 44g of protein, better do better tomorrow.

    I also watch a weekly deficit rather than a daily one. Some days I exercise more some less. Some days I feel like eating everything and other days, a bit better control
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Options
    Do you guys use IIFYM to calculate your macros?

    No. Personally, I decided that it would make sense to keep my protein at about my lean body mass, which I estimated as meaning over 100 grams of protein to be safe, so long as I was trying to exercise a lot and eating at a deficit. When I first started I was doing 1250 calories (plus exercise calories), so I rounded that up to 35%. I tend to do better cutting calories that low when I eat fewer carbs (not low carb), so after experimenting I set carbs to 30% and fat at the remaining 35%.

    I'm now much more active and have raised my calories to 1600, so I revised this to 30% protein and fat (which puts me above my minimum protein that I'm aiming for without being crazy high) and 40% carbs, as I tend to prefer a bit more carbs due to activity, but this feels sufficient. I'm not adverse to revising this more depending on how I feel, but so far it's working well for me.
  • suppakana
    suppakana Posts: 307 Member
    Options
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/reports

    Swap it from "Weight" to "Net calories"

    INCREDIBLY informative if you track diligently yet find yourself slipping; if you're going over a wee bit on a regular basis, it will show.
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
    Options
    I count calories but I also keep an eye on my protein macros. I try to eat more whole foods but I also enjoy having beer & wine & burgers & the like.
  • just_special
    just_special Posts: 99 Member
    Options
    I make sure my protein numbers are high enough. I have been focusing on keeping my protein high and my sugar and sodium within the goal ranges I set on MFP.

    For protein intake, my goal is 0.5g for every 1 pound I weigh. It is a challenge, but I find with the higher protein levels, my weight loss has been more steady and consistent.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    Options
    I count calories, watch my macros and my micros.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Options
    Naw, I see no need for those restrictions in the absence of any medical conditions that would warrant them. I eat nutritious foods that I cook from scratch, not processed crap, but the foods I make are of all varieties. No type of food is cut out from my diet, unless you count processed junk with chemicals as a type lol. bread, no problem. Apple crumble made with sugar, no problem... what I try to avoid is stuff that's NOT food added to my foods. Chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, etc, are not foods. So I buy unprocessed meats, vegetables, fruits, unbleached flour, etc, and I bake breads here at home. Cooking is recreational for me. :) The idea of cutting out whole categories of food, like grains, would just never work for me.

Categories